History's Stongest Disciple Danny!
by drakonic1
Summary: Apachai made a deal with a "Grim Reaper" to come back from the dead. What does this have to do with Danny? Danny is NOT going to like the answer to that question.
1. Chapter 1

Crossover DP/ Kenichi. Apachai made a deal with a "Grim Reaper" to come back from the dead. What does this have to do with Danny? Danny is NOT going to like the answer to that question.

Throughout the story the speech will be in either English or Japanese. One will be the primary language, which will be written normally, while the secondary will be secondary, which is denoted by being written within \\example\\ It should be pretty easy to tell which is which. The primary language in this chapter is Japanese.

I don't own Danny Phantom or History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi

I used the spellings of the names from Wikipedia. Some of these names use spellings with accented letters that, I found out upon reading this from my cell earlier today, don't always show up. So, for the convenience all and any mobile readers:

Kōetsuji = Koetsuji

Fūrinji = Furinji

Kōsaka = Kosaka

Ryōzanpaku = Ryozanpaku

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><p>" ...I am sorry Apachai I think I misheard you. You are going <em>where<em> to do _what_?" Kōetsuji Akisame looked up from the fire he was fanning to give his large friend a puzzled look (which is really saying something considering his usually neutral facial expression).

"Apa! Sorry! Apachai said he has to go to America to pick up the disciple the Grim Reaper told him to teach! I'm supposed to try to get you guys to teach him too!" Hopachai Apachai said as he packed up his suitcase, wearing a vacantly cheerful smile that gave no indication that the statement was in any way as strange as it was. Yet it was true; the previous year Apachai had died when a rival Muay Thai boxer punched a hole in him, but he came back to life just in time to save Kenichi from another master martial artist.

"Haha I almost forgot about that! So that's the reaper's condition for bringing you back to life, what a relief, I was afraid you sold your soul or something." Sakaki Shio laughed as he chopped to neck off another bottle of beer. His words seemed carefree but his friends could see that his concern was genuine.

"Hoho, this is news even to me," The Elder, FūrinjiHayato, said with a good natured chuckle and a stroke of his beard. "Why haven't you brought this up before now?"

"Apa! Apachai is sorry, Apachai forgot all about the deal up until a dream I had last night when the Reaper reminded me and said it was time to go get the boy." He said, now trying desperately to get the suitcase closed, which would be easy except he actually had the forethought not to risk breaking it by forcing it shut.

"But Apachai, surely you don't plan on going to America all by yourself. For one thing you can't speak English. "

"\\Actually, I can! Apachai doesn't know how, but ever since the dream last night Apachai remembers learning English, even though Apachai remembers not learning English, too!\\" Apachai spoke with a tone of wonder, though it was more the wonder of a child looking at a shiny new toy than that of someone who just went through a miraculous supernatural encounter. "And our new disciple will be made to know how to speak Japanese the same way so that the language barriers don't create a plot hole!" At this the other masters just stare at him.

"Plot... hole?" Kōsaka Shigure asked slowly, hanging from the ceiling for no discernable reason (she then sent a shuriken into the rafters where it broke the camera lens of one Ma Kensei. He jumped to the ground where it was safer.) Apachai panicked and looked around with a thin mask of a blank smile

"Apa! Apachai didn't break the forth wall! Apachai knows nothing!"

". . ."

The other masters decided to drop it.

"That still doesn't answer how you plan on getting there." Kensei said, deciding to sit upside down to read his porno.

"Apaaa..."

"Ah, we'll figure out a way, worse comes to worse we'll take the boat, I'm more interested in this new disciple! He's not as worthless as our current problem is he?" Sakaki said, the beer finally getting to him a bit.

"Yes, it might be interesting to train someone with some actual talent" Kensei said pensively.

"Oh come on! How many times do I have to ask you guys not to talk about me like I'm not here! And come on master Sakaki, even freaks like you couldn't use a man powered paddleboat to cross the pacific! And what about international laws?" The masters looked over at Shirahama Kenichi with mild surprise, as if they hadn't notices him flailing back and forth, suspended over a massive fire, throughout the entire conversation. The 'surprise' quickly shifted to annoyance.

"Less mouthing off, more 'Dancing Squid'!" Akisame resumed fanning the flames beneath Kenichi with renewed vigor and Kenichi continued working out his abdominal and back muscles while crying bloody murder. Fūrinji Miu came out with tea and snacks, seemingly unfazed by the questionable morality of the torturous training method, although her eyes did linger Kenichi himself, admiring his... 'Progress', let's go with that.

"It's going to be tight, fitting a trip like that into our budget, but Sakaki's right, we'll find a way. Apachai can't exactly back out of a deal with a Reaper."

"Alright, then, but what do you do once you get to America?" Akisame said.

"Easy! Apachai goes to the house with the flying saucer on the top, knocks on the door and I say \\Hello! I am Apachai! I come to take Danny to Japan to teach him to kill his opponents with his fists!\\" Apachai smiled like an idiot and everyone else sweat-dropped. Even Kenichi knew enough English to understand "kill" and could see the problems in going up to someone's house talking about killing.

"I think at _least_ one of us will be coming with you." Akisame said.

"So your disciple to be is named Danny, is he? Did the Reaper tell you anything else about him?" Sakaki said.

"Nope! Apachai just knows that his name is Danny Fenton and he lives in Amity Park in the house that says Fenton Works!"

"Hmm... well that's not much to go by. Niijima, perhaps you can do a little research?" the Elder said as he sipped his tea, allowing a hint of smugness to enter his voice. Farther out in the yard, Haruo Niijima shivered slightly before stepping out from behind the tree he was 'hiding' behind. The strange looking boy walked towards the group gathered at the doorway, eying Shigure warily, already pulling out his PDA and accessing the internet.

"Ok, let's start with the town; a general search will work better. ... Oho, Interesting! Amity Park is actually fairly well known. It seems it is a hotspot for supposed supernatural activity, although it started shortly before a billionaire by the name of Vladmir Masters used the ghost attacks as the foundation of his campaign for mayor, so my first guess would be hoax... though perhaps not, it seems he did work on ghosts in college. Oh, and look who his research partners are, Jack Fenton and Madeline Fenton! It seems it will be easier to find your new apprentice than you thought, Fenton Works is the Lab owned and run by Jack and Madeline Fenton, as well as their home, and they are now the primary ghost hunters in Amity Park, along with an unknown individual known as the Red Huntress and a few others. One of the ghosts is also a ghost hunter, arguably the 'hero' of the town, known as ... Invis-o-bill?" (The polyglots in the group groaned at the bad pun) "Oh wait that's an old news report, his "Phan" club website says he's called Danny Phantom..." Niijima seemed to be interested by the ghost news as he stopped relaying the info out loud and stared intently at the screen, an intent and faintly disturbing look falling across his alien features. A small clearing of the throat from the Elder was enough to get him back on track, and he gained a disturbing amount of information with inhuman speed. "Anyway, Daniel Fenton, age 16, son of Jack and Madeline Fenton, has a sister, Jasmine 'Jazz' Fenton, age 18, who will be starting in Yale in the fall with a major in psychology. He was a smart kid in middle school but his grades have been slipping ever since the beginning of high school, and he is the victim of almost as much bullying as weak legs here used to get, back when weak legs was actually an appropriate name. All and all, he's a loser, only has two friends and everyone else basically thinks nothing of him, the general consensus on facebook and the like is that he has a thing for his friend Samantha Manson... eh irrelevant for your purposes. He's good in a pinch though, he led a group of teenagers in an attack against ... a ghost ship that had kidnapped every single adult in Amity Park? If this is a hoax it's a damn elaborate one, all the records actually report every adult in Amity Park as missing for a short period of time, and a large portion of the city budget is designated for repairs, presumably from the ghost attacks... though that could be embezzlement ... the more I read the harder it is to believe there's anything about him that would warrant special interest from a Reaper. Very curious. "

"Aww man, so we're stuck with another weakling? I'd have liked if we at least found someone with some meat on his bones." Sakaki was looking at picture of a scrawny looking teenager with ice blue eyes and raven black hair. He then did a double take. "Huh, there's something about him, though," the slur in his speech from his beer almost discredited the observation, but now that they looked the other masters could see something too.

"I'll try to find a video file for us to observe his movements with." Niijima also wanted to scan him with his alien powers, but he wasn't getting a clear reading from the photos. It actually took a few minutes but Niijima found a YouTube video of a field day held by the school. The first event that caught their attention was dodge ball.

"It's hard to tell... can you increase the definition... yes! He's tracking the balls with his eyes, and his arm keeps twitching like he's fighting a reflexive block." Kensei said, surprised. The next event was the tug of war.

"He's not a very good actor. He's obviously not trying at all..." Akisame observed pensively. By now everyone, even Kenichi, was circled around Niijima viewing the small screen over his shoulders.

"Hoho, he seems to be expressing quite a bit of self control concerning the blond fellow..." The elder commented as an athletic teenager started to taunt Danny, only to have Danny shake with anger for a bit before his friend Sam put a hand on his shoulder and he took a deep breath and walked off. Niijima's eyes widened until they had consumed every human feature of his face.

"Niijima scan! Yes, I can't quite place it but he's far too advanced to be an ordinary student, yet other than his mannerisms in a few visuals there is nothing to suggest that he isn't. Maybe there isn't, and the Reaper just sees potential... oh, who cares, just thing what having a soldier handpicked by death himself will do to the ranks of the Shinpaku Alliance! AHAHAHAHA!" Niijima was very excited and let out a positively demonic cackle, which Kenichi cut short with a whack to the head.

"I hope for his sake that he's got something special about him, or he's going to die. Does he even know that a Reaper has arranged training for him? And why are we assuming this arrangement is made for a good reason, couldn't this be a plan to raise a killer or simply kill the guy off?"

"Why are you so cynical, Ken chan? We should count our blessings and worry about problems like that when they come up. And as Miu said, Apachai can't exactly back out of a deal with a Reaper. Do you want to argue with Miu?" Elder said. Kenichi shook his head back and forth emphatically and stuttered apologies to Miu.

"Right, now the more pressing matter is to get to America and to think up a valid excuse as to why a total stranger would want to take a 15 year old boy to train in a foreign country." Akisame mused

"We should say he won a contest!" Miu said.

"Yes, something along those lines is most likely our best bet. Niijima, will you do the honors of fabricating the online aspects? I'll paint the paper certificate when you're done, make it look official." Niijima was trying to snake away while everyone was distracted an assumed he was still unconscious from Kenichi's hit.

"Right, will do." He seemed annoyed at having to do what the masters said but one could almost see him reminding himself of Death's Warrior and his effects on Shinpaku's ranks.

"The Reaper said we should tell the truth and Danny will come around eventually. It's his parents that we need to fool! They don't know what about Danny makes him special to the reaper" Apachai said.

"Well that solves the problem of having Daniel win a contest he never entered, although that raises even more questions about Danny himself." Akisame stated.

"... so wait, do you know what makes Danny special to the Reaper or don't you?" Kenichi was confused

"No, Apachai just knows that he is special and we need to prepare him for what is to come." The phone rang and Sakaki, being closest, answered it.

"We still need to figure out how we're going to get there."

"Maybe we should just take the boat like Sakaki said. I'd like to see how much more power Kenichi could muster after over a year" Kenichi nearly fainted at Kensei's comment.

"No, Kenichi actually did have a point with the legalities using that for international travel..." Akisame said.

"We're just going to have to rearrange the budget a bit, maybe cut back on the sake, or maybe you could take a job on a ship to get there..." as Miu pondered the financial aspects of this, Sakaki came back into the room with a big smile on his face.

"I think all our problems just solved themselves, that Billionaire mayor just called. It turns out that Danny Phantom ain't such a hero, he's robbed, held people hostage, you name it! Vlad Masters just hired us to get this ghost boy out of his hair, and is giving all of us first class transportation to Amity Park, accomodations once there, and a Million US dollars upon completion. What a lucky coincidence!"

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><p>AN. Hehe, this is going to be interesting. I've wanted to do a Danny phantom and Kenichi crossover for a while, but I couldn't think of a valid reason for Danny to train at Ryōzanpaku. Then I thought of Apachai's little mishap (ya gotta love a character that's badass enough to treat their own death as a "little mishap") and the logistics of what it would take to make a deal with a reaper, and it kinda clicked.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Danny Phantom or History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi.

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><p>"I still say it seems kinda suspicious that this guy Masters contacted us the very day we needed to get to his home town." Kenichi complained for the hundredth time in the past few days. Kensei sighed.<p>

"Kenichi, Kenichi, Kenichi, what am I going to do with you. You are on a cruise ship. You get a week off training because the captain threatened to report us to the police after the first day, AND MIU IS IN A BIKINI 10 FEET AWAY FROM YOU! You are complaining _why_?" Kenichi looked contemplative but not convinced. Kensei sighed. "Look, Kenichi, It's just a coincidence, and even if it's more than that it's just as likely that the Reaper foresaw this and that's why he told us to go when he did. There is no conceivable way that Masters knew that we needed to go to Amity Park. _We_ didn't know until three days ago. Now, for the last time: _MIU IS IN A BIKINI!_" he grabbed Kenichi's head and turned it towards the aforementioned busty blond. Kenichi turned red and started smiling in a subtly disturbing manner.

"You're right, master, I think I can manage to make the best of it."All the while the Miu was fuming and pretending she couldn't hear the very loud references to her state of dress and fighting the urge to cover up from the attention she was sure Kensei was attracting to her. _If it'll get Kenichi to stop moping I can deal with it. Waa! "I can put up with having my body stared at if it'll make Kenichi happy"? I don't like the implications of that! Kenichi, you cheer up quickly so I can teach Kensei a lesson!_

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><p>"Apapa! That was fun! Apachai will have to thank Masters for not making me fly in a plane!" Apachai said as they headed for the hotel suites that had been paid for by Vlad. For a brief moment Kenichi was very happy when there was a momentary confusion as to why there were 8 people instead of 6, as Kenichi and Miu apparently hadn't been expected, and it looked like they would share a room, but a quick call to Vlad (and the Elder's imposing presence) got two extra rooms in record time. The young Latina woman behind the front desk, who couldn't be more than 17, pulled Miu aside as she was about to leave with the others.<p>

"Does Gramps get between you and your boyfriend often? Don't worry, I set you two up with two connected rooms." She winked.

"What! No, we're not dating or anything! He's like a little brother to me!" Miu said frantically, face turning red and waving her arms. The woman's eyes lit up

"Oh really? Your tone says otherwise, but if you're sure, do you think you could get me his number? How long are you guys staying?" Miu smiled dangerously at the girl as the air around her quivered.

"Oh I'm sorry, he doesn't speak English. Besides I don't think you're quite his type" the girl shrunk back quickly.

"Right. Well if you need anything don't hesitate to call me at the front desk. My name's Paulina by the way" she pointed at her breast where her name tag would be were it not pinned to the other side of her uniform "Your um family is probably waiting for you. Have a nice stay!" Miu's demeanor lightened immediately

"Domo arigato Paulina chan!" she bowed and practically skipped off. Paulina breathed a sigh of relief when she was out of sight

"Damn, and here I thought Fenton and the freak were in denial. Big boobed psycho bitch" Paulina shook her head and acted alert, ready to greet the next guest. Her daddy may have gotten her the job at his hotel after he cut of her allowance after that party got out of hand, but setting up the "couple's" rooms was enough job- jeopardizing rebellion for one day.

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><p>The night went without incident and the next day the members of the dojo finally met with the mayor. They got to city hall and saw a middle aged man in a black suit, with silver hair pulled back into a pony tail. He had a piercing gaze, much more so than Kenichi had expected to see on anyone who wasn't a martial artist. It was the same sort of look Niijima got at times, except darker and calmer, and this man actually had the maturity and resources to back up the megalomania.<p>

"Welcome, Welcome! So this is the Famous Ryōzanpaku Dojo, I am honored! I see you brought your students as well? Unexpected but welcome nonetheless! Would you like anything to eat or drink? No? Then let's get down to business. You know that you were hired to get rid of public enemy number one, Danny Phantom, to be paid one million US dollars upon completion; and that price _is_ negotiable. I have told you briefly of his crimes, but the thing I didn't say directly is that he is, in fact, a ghost. Now before you say anything, I do realize that most people outside my city regard the paranormal activity within as a hoax. I guarantee you it is not. Here is a file on Phantom. Review it at your discretion. Let's watch some video footage of the 'ghost boy' in action" with the press of a button a massive television rose out of the floor and video started to play. The video was mostly news footage, but what was surprising was that Masters was not blatantly trying to sway them one way or the other as to whether or not Phantom was the "Bad guy". There was footage of him robbing a jewelry store, then of him rescuing a child from a burning building. He held the previous mayor hostage, and then he saved a bus of senior citizens. "As you can see, the public controversy as to whether he is a villain or a hero is not unfounded. But here is something the general public has never seen. A few weeks ago, Phantom was spotted out in a desert, far from the city, apparently training. My sources managed to follow him." The footage changed to a somewhat shaky view of the ghost boy going through what seemed to be a routine check of his powers. He shot various targets that he set up. He fashioned various weapons out of ice and a strange green substance Masters identified as ectoplasm. He flew very, very quickly; the video zoomed in at the speedometer he set up that read 300mph (he did a childish victory dance after that). He then split his form into one… two… three... four… as he tried to make a fifth his body simply contorted and various body parts sprouted from others in a grotesquely comical fashion. Miu squealed and covered her eyes. "As you can see, his powers are limited but growing. My resources report that within the past year his body did that when he tried to form even one double. The ice generating ability is even newer, and 300mph, or roughly 483km/hr, is a new record for him. But this is the portion of the video that prompted me to bring in the big guns, if you will, and hire you." Phantom regained his single form and stowed all the equipment he had in a box, which he then turned intangible and stuck in the ground. He walked about twenty feet away from it and took a slight stance, feet firmly on the ground. He took in a deep breath… and wailed. A giant blast radiated from his mouth and shook the very air. The audio cut off after a few seconds and the picture was lost after the camera apparently fell a few seconds later. "Luckily that was from a small mechanical bug so there was no camera man to be injured. That was the ground view. We were lucky enough to also get a satellite video" the static switched to a video of the same seen, but from so far above phantom was merely a dot. But his size was insignificant once the shockwave came. It wasn't quite visible as green waves as is had been in the ground footage, but a green tinge was still there. The ground in front of Phantom was torn to up easily. The footage was frozen when the blast was at its largest and a scale was added to the image. "That one blast extended approximately 8 kilometers and hit an area of over 50 square kilometers. The force exceeded that of a category 5 hurricane and the resulting tremors were detected by seismographs in the closest three cities, albeit barely. Now, I will leave the decision of hero or villain to you; the absolute truth is that no one is entirely sure of his motivation. That is part of the problem. He's a loose cannon, and hero or not he's made mistakes before and he can do it again. His power is immense and only increasing, and thus so are the consequences of the next time he decides he's bored with playing hero. I couldn't call myself a responsible leader if I let a sentient weapon like Phantom roam around the city unchecked. If at all possible, capture him and bring him to me. If not… make sure we never see phantom's face again, by any means necessary. Any questions?" As Akisame translated the last of his speech Kenichi looked confused.

"\\Wait, you don't want one 'sentient weapon' in your city so you invite six more? You haven't heard much about the masters, have you? \\" Kenichi said and earned a whack on the head from Kensei. Luckily Vlad just looked confused.

"Kenichi is merely expressing confusion as to why you felt it necessary to in invite all six of us for this. He knows his masters' abilities and finds it excessive" Akisame paraphrased.

"Well my motivation is twofold, one, I was unsure whether you would believe me concerning the ghosts, and more people meant that if one or two of you declined I'd still have quite the fighting force; two, phantom has been known to play and fight on a psychological level; he's constantly in dialogue with the ghosts he fights, for example. Even if one of you could do the job on your own, all six of you fighting him would have much more of an effect on him."

"Well, this is an unorthodox enemy, so I suppose an unorthodox approach is in order. It seems the local high school is a favorite battleground. Do you think that Miu and Kenichi could enroll temporarily for reconnaissance?"

"If you're sure they can handle a confrontation with Phantom, yes. I take it that means you accept the job?" Kenichi panicked instantly and started crying, while Miu looked excited.

"\\Come on Kenichi, don't you think it'll be interesting to go to an American school? \\" she lowered her voice slightly "\\Besides, this'll be a chance for us to look for the new disciple.\\" He calmed down as the words sunk in.

"Yes. We accept." The Elder said.

"Excellent. You two will start school at Casper high this upcoming Monday. For now enjoy the hotel, prepare however you see fit, and if you happen to run into Phantom ahead of schedule feel free do as you please. If you feel you need any sort of equipment be sure to let me know. It will be supplied to you." The members of Ryōzanpaku bowed and left. Vlad chuckled darkly. "I surprise even myself. Most of what I said was actually the truth! Who would have thought I could actually convince a group of mercenaries to take out a fifteen year old boy without them even realizing it! I've got you this time, Danny. Watch out, little badger. MWAHAHAHAHA—" The doors burst open

"Apa! Apachai almost forgot! Apachai hates planes, so thank you for bringing us by boat!" he turned and left.

"…where was I… oh yeah—HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

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><p>AN<p>

A big thanks to Cap. Dead beard, Leo112 and drkphoenx for reviewing, and to all those who favorited and/or added the story to their alerts!

Correct me If I'm wrong, the area of the ghostly wail should be over fifty; the wail goes out like a sector of a circle, it extended 8 kilometers, let's say it went out forming a right angle for simplicities sake. A= πr^2 ; A= π(8)^2 ; A=64π the sector is 90 degrees so it is 90/360= 1/4 of the area of the circle= A/4; (64π)/4 =16 π =50.. I used kilometers because that's what the Japanese characters would better grasp. The American equivalent is just under 5 miles and just over 20 square miles. Tell me if you think I should make it more and I will. When Danny used it in the Ultimate Enemy, It only went down the block, really. Yet Dark Dan wailed and it hit the entire city, albeit somewhat weakly. I think this is healthy medium

Damn, who'd have thought so much thought could go into one little detail mentioned in passing. Oh and don't look into Miu's thoughts in the first paragraph too much, I just realized roughly the same thing as I was writing it and had to put it in; Miu realizes that Kensei is just trying cheer up Kenichi and doesn't want to interfere, but when you put that sentiment into words it sounds a little weird.

Oh, and I'm not sure if Miu speaking English is canon but it makes sense to me, she's smart enough and she traveled a lot in her youth.

I almost forgot that Apachai said he'd thank Vlad, so that wound up stuck in at the end as a sad attempt at humor.

And please read and vote on the poll I made!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Danny Phantom or History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi.

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><p>"All right class, starting today we have two foreign exchange students, please welcome Fūrinji Miu and Shirahama Kenichi." Up in front of the classroom there were two new students, a subtly muscular boy with dark brown hair and a friendly face and a cheerful, well endowed blond girl, both dressed in what was probably the uniform for their original school. Once introduced, they bowed to the class, obviously expecting some sort of greeting, but receiving none. The class was in general disarray; the students were chattering amongst themselves, and the only student who was paying attention was Sam Manson. She looked at the rest of the class and rolled her eyes, (considering this was just homeroom she knew she shouldn't expect any more) then nudged Tucker, and they both rose and bowed in return<p>

"Welcome to Casper high!" Sam called out over the general din. This seemed to raise the exchange students' spirits a little.

"Let me apologize for my students' rudeness. Now you speak English, but not your friend, correct Miss Fūrinji?"

"Hai. I traveled a lot when I was younger so I speak it fairly well, but Kenichi only knows a few phrases."

"Well I'm going to have to ask you to act as translator and help him out quite a bit, normally we'd have a teacher for that, but your transfer was so sudden we don't have any Japanese speaking faculty at the moment." Mr. Lance said apologetically.

"It's ok! I don't mind helping Kenichi out!"

"Excellent. You can take those two seats by Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, the two that bowed to you, but not that seat right next to Miss Manson, that one is assigned to Danny Fenton, whenever he decides to show up..." At that instant footsteps were heard slamming down the hall and a winded Danny Fenton rushed into the room, his eyes closed against the pain of his obvious exhaustion.

"Sorry I'm la-" he ran right into Kenichi, who took a slight stance right before the collision and stood his ground, while Danny "bounced" off of him and stumbled a bit before regaining his footing.

"\\Ow! Watch where you're going! \\" Kenichi said

"\\Ah, I'm sorry, I was a little rushed... ah, who are you? \\" Danny replied sheepishly and then with confusion.

"\\Oh, I'm Shirahama Kenichi, I'll be an exchange student here for a while.\\"

"\\Danny Fenton, Nice to meet you...\\" Danny (Finally) noticed something strange "\\...since when do I speak Japanese!\\"he said in a hushed voice.

"Mr. Fenton, I didn't know you spoke Japanese!" Lancer said, surprised

"I've been taking online classes?" Danny's answer came out as more of a question.

"Well that's impressive and in this instance useful but in the future may I suggest focusing on actually schoolwork? If you have the spare time to learn a new language you have time to finish your homework. Now normally you'd get another detention for being late again but in light of your talent perhaps you can show our new students around town instead. Is that ok with you two?" Lancer addressed Miu and Kenichi

"Hai! I'd love to do a little sightseeing! You don't mind, do you, Danny?"

"\\No, not at all, not that I'm being given a choice.\\" Danny said, though afterwards he seemed startled to have slipped into Japanese again.

"Go sit down you three; homeroom is over in a few minutes." They did as instructed.

"What was that about?" Tucker asked.

"Well I got out of detention but I have to show these two around town."

"Seems an odd punishment, why?" Sam asked

"Because I speak Japanese." Danny said

"I didn't know that! Cool."Tucker said.

"Neither did I—" Danny stated flatly before he caught himself. "—because I've only ever done the online practice work, I've never had a chance to test myself." He turned to Kenichi and Miu "\\and I'm sorry if I don't sound too thrilled by our little up and coming excursion, it's nothing against you I just don't like the prospect of being forced to do so. Oh, and a word of warning, We three are possibly the least popular kids in school, myself especially, so if you happen to be the type to strive for a place in the social food chain I'd advise you dump us as soon as you can. \\" just then the bell rang. "\\Anyway I'll meet up with you guys by the main entrance after school. See you then! \\" he rushed off to the next class, followed by Sam and Tucker.

"\\They seem nice 's in a bit of a bad mood though.\\" Kenichi said as they watched their new "friends" leave

"\\Yeah, and it seems like Apachai was correct about Danny learning Japanese the way he learned English.\\ Miu said.

"\\Yeah, it's creepy, almost. Even seeing it with my own eyes, this stuff is hard to believe, I mean come on, A Reaper? And yet here we are half a world away with the truth staring us in the face.\\"

"\\Wow, Kenichi that's pretty deep thinking\\" Miu smiled, admiring his moment of maturity

"\\Hey, you don't need to sound so surprised!\\" Kenichi slipped back into his usual complaining self in a heartbeat. Miu giggled and headed off to their next class "\\Miu! Wait up! And what's so funny! \\"

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><p>"Ok this is seriously weird, <em>why<em> can I suddenly speak Japanese?" Danny, Sam and tucker were discussing recent events in hushed voices at an isolated table during lunch.

"It's not a new ghost power is it? Maybe you can automatically talk to people in their native tongue?" Tucker suggested.

"I'll have to track down Wulf and see if I can speak Esperanto to him." Danny said, grimacing at the prospect of the long search that would entail.

"Well before you do that, try speaking some Japanese now, to see if you actually have to speak to a native speaker" Sam reasoned.

"\\I don't know, Sam, I've never actually _tried_ to speak it before, it just happened without me thinking... \\ oh. I did it again." Danny slammed his head down on the table a started mumbling to himself. Just then Miu and Kenichi came up to the table.

"Hello everybody! Mind if we sit here?"

"\\Sure thing, make yourself comfortable.\\" Danny replied without lifting his head. Miu gave him a questioning look, and then turned to Sam, who gave a dismissive shrug. They sat down

"\\You ok Danny? I was looking forward to having someone else to talk to, I feel stupid being the only one who doesn't understand what's being said.\\" Kenichi spoke in a cheerful tone that Danny would've felt guilty to ignore, so he raised his head and answered

"\\Yeah, I'm fine, so how do you like it in America so far? \\"

"\\Well I guess I like it but I'm kind of disappointed, I come to a town infamous for supernatural activities and I've yet to see a single ghost. Though I must say I never expected to come to America under these circumstances.\\"

"\\Heh, don't worry, a ghost'll show up soon enough, especially if you keep talking like that. What circumstances are those did you not expect sign up for a foreign exchange program? \\"

"\\no, me being in school is really just a side effect of the real reason I'm here, let's just say my masters are here on business and I got dragged along because the alternative would be to be left alone at the dojo with Miu.\\" Kenichi was nearly crying.

"\\Masters? Dojo? So you're a martial artist? Cool.\\" Danny looked surprised "\\Which martial art? What rank are you?\\"

"\\Quite a few actually, I'm studying Karate, jujitsu, Muay Thai, and Kenpo at the moment. As far as rank goes, Ryōzanpaku isn't the type of dojo to give out belts or anything, but I'm at or approaching the lower end of the area between disciple and master.\\"

"\\Huh. I take it that means you're good? \\" Kenichi seemed to get a bit puffed up at that

"\\Yeah I'd say so. I've got a lot to learn though; I can't lay a finger on Miu. What about you? Do you know any martial arts? \\"

"\\My mom is a ninth degree black belt, so I've picked up a few little tricks, but I'm not much of a fighter. I still manage to get my butt kicked by Dash on a daily basis.\\"

"Fenton!"

"\\Well speak of the devil\\ whattaya want, Dash?" Danny looked annoyed, but even more so he looked bored. Kenichi and Miu noted a distinct lack of fear.

"So you really did rope the new kids into the loser brigade. Shame, the chick is hot." Miu looked ready to pounce. "But more importantly, I've got an F to pound into your hide." He threw the test in Danny's face and picked him up with one hand. He threw a punch... only to have it caught an inch from Danny's face.

"No fighting." Kenichi said in heavily accented English as he stared down Dash. He squeezed Dash's fist a bit until Dash winced and let go of Danny.

"I'd be careful if I were you." Danny said, his tone somewhere between wary and smug

"Shut it Fenton. This guy's in for a beating now and it's too late to warn him." Dash lunged at Kenichi only to have Kenichi step behind him an instant before Dash's fist hit his face.

"What makes you think I was talking to him" Danny said, fighting to keep the smugness out of his voice.

"I don't want to fight. You go." Kenichi said. His English was almost comically choppy and accented, but his determined expression was one only an idiot would ignore. Then again no one even claimed Dash to be a genius. By the 5th attempted punch Kenichi was in awe at how weak his opponent was. After Fighting for his life against high level disciples and the occasional master it was almost laughable how sloppy Dash's moves where. _I may have backed myself into a corner here. He's not listening to me, so how am I going to get him to stop without hurting him? A careful throw? Lock his limbs? Last time someone without proper training fought me I tore them apart! Maybe I should just avoid getting hit until a teacher comes..._ He put his hands behind his back so he would be less likely to do anything reflexively and so it would be clearer that he was not trying to fight when the teacher came.

"What, now you think you don't have to fight back! Arrogant bastard! Coward!" Kenichi understood that last word. He stopped dodging and moved is hands to his side. His face became severe and he radiated energy.

"I am not a coward." Dash punched him in the face and Kenichi didn't move an inch. He continued to stare down Dash, who was now holding his hand and trying to hide his pain and surprise. Kenichi took a solid stance in which it would be difficult for any non-master to find a hole. "Attack, if you think you can." Dash finally seemed to get the message and backed away. Kenichi breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to Dash, and sat back down to finish his lunch. Of course Dash wasn't about to take such humiliation so easily, so he attacked Kenichi while he was sitting with his back turned. Kenichi moved over slightly to avoid the attack and shot his elbow back into dash's gut. Dash flew back into the opposite wall and fell unconscious, eyes blank. Kenichi rushed over immediately.

"\\Oh shit! I'm sorry I'm sorry that was just a reflex don't you know you shouldn't attack people from behind like that! \\" He picked Dash up easily. "\\Where is the nurse's office! \\ Doctor!" Danny got up to lead the way, as everyone else was either too shocked, too confused or some combination therein to react.

An hour later dash woke up in the nurse's office, thankfully none the worse for wear, other than some pretty nasty bruising. Lancer was informed and came in to a complete sob story about how he was attacked for no reason. At which Lancer informed him that Tucker Foley had recorded the whole thing, and that Kenichi had obviously not been the instigator and had in fact tried to solve things peacefully three times before he finally attacked by mistake in self defense. Dash was suspended and Kenichi given detention for a week (he _had_ jumped into a fight and knocked someone out after all, so he got off easy.) and by the time all the testimonies were reviewed and the punishments dished out, school was over, and Danny, Sam, Tucker, Kenichi, and Miu headed out for the tour of the town.

"So are you guys interested in seeing anything in particular? There's the mall, the Nasty Burger, the zoo, the library, the movie theater..."Sam asked as Danny translated for Kenichi.

"Oh, are there any local dojos? I want to see where Danny learns to fight."

"Eh? What makes you think I know how to fight?" Danny actually managed to keep the panic out of his voice.

"Well I'll admit it doesn't seem like it at first glance but for some reason you strike me as a fighter. For one thing, Kenichi is a lot sturdier than he looks, yet you took the brunt of a collision with him without comment; during the fight with Dash your eyes followed Kenichi's movements perfectly, even the ones that had Dash turning in circles like an idiot; you sure aren't afraid of Dash."

"Dash is just a muscle bound bully. I live in the most haunted town in America if not the world; I like to keep my priorities straight. If I see a ghost I'm sure as heck gonna run for it, but Dash? He's simpler if I just go with the flow." Danny was pleased with himself. He had answered truthfully and covered for why he'd be gone once a ghost appeared in one fell swoop. Miu translated this time.

"\\Eh? So you don't even want to learn to fight? \\" Kenichi asked, confused. He had at least _tried_ to fight back, back when he was weak.

"\\Like I said: it's simplest to go with the flow. That means appearing to be the weakling everyone thinks I am, and martial arts lessons are not congruent with that endeavored.\\" Danny said dismissively.

"Ah, so you _are_ stronger than you look." Miu said triumphantly with a sly look on her face.

"Not by much. So, you decided where you wanna go yet?" Danny slapped himself mentally and changed the subject.

"Whats this 'Nasty Burger' place? That seems like an odd name for... well anything." Miu said.

"It's the most popular hang out in town. Despite the name, the food there's not that bad, if you don't mind ground up animal carcasses. They have decent salads too." Sam said. Tucker rolled his eyes

"Did we mention Sam here is avid 'ultra recyclo' vegetarian and blasphemer against the delicacy of meat?" Danny actually had to think about translating Tucker's statement. _Woah, I actually _do_ remember doing this on an online course. Freaky._

"And Tucker is a ravenous carnivore who enjoys clogging his arteries with the lifeblood of defenseless creatures." Danny decided he needed to defuse the situation before it got worse.

"To the Nasty burger it is, come on, I know a shortcut through the back streets." He rushed them along. They walked easily for several minutes, chatting while the group's locals pointed out noteworthy places on occasion, before Danny started to get a weird feeling. At first he barely noticed it, but it got stronger until it could no longer be ignored. _What the heck? This is weird... I feel like I'm in danger, like something wants to attack me... I recognize it, kinda... it's the feeling I get when my ghost sense goes off ...except there's no ghost, no ectoplasmic energy... yet that basic feeling is there, even stronger._ He looked at the others. Kenichi was looking around in confusion, like he was lost, while Miu looked around humming happily. Sam and Tucker were just walking along like normal. He walked forward to Sam and Tucker

"Guys, I have a weird feeling, I don't think it's a ghost but _something _is following us. Be on guard and be ready to cover for me." He backed up and spoke to his new friends.

"\\Don't look, keep calm, but be on guard, it might be nothing but I have the feeling we are being followed.\\" Danny didn't see Miu smile. They went on for another few minutes, a bit faster, and Danny became more and more certain that something was wrong. When they were just two blocks from the main road, something flew out at Danny from the shadows; he dodged the rock by a hairs breadth, then a bottle from another direction, but the shuriken from the third assailant cut off a lock of hair._ What the fuck!_ Tucker and Sam both touched a bracelet on their wrist and a small laser popped out while Danny pulled out a short rod from behind his back and extended it out to a staff crackling with energy. They turned to the individual sources of the attacks and took aim in the shadows. Miu and Kenichi took fighting stances. They were surrounded.

"What do you want? Who are you and why are you attacking me!" Danny said firmly, eyes dashing to his friends to see if they'd been hit.

"\\Oi, oi, Shigure! What's with the shuriken, we're not trying to kill him! \\" a strong, boisterous voice drifted through the streets from nowhere.

"\\Says the man that threw a beer bottle.\\" a calm, contemplative voice cut in.

"\\You heard ... what he saidbefore. If it is not a real threat, he does... nothing.\\" a woman's voice joined them, slow and subtly menacing

"\\Hoho, Shigure has a point! I think we can hold off on the weapons but otherwise lets up the ante! \\" the old man's jovial voice was somehow the scariest. Seconds later the 'unknown' assailants threw even more projectiles at Danny from more places. He ducked and dodged and blocked with the staff, while Sam and Tucker shot into the shadows at what they could best figure to be the locations of the attackers. Two shuriken cut cleanly through the base of the wrist lasers.

"\\Such weapons have no place ... in a battle between martial artists.\\" Danny dodged so many projectiles he lost count, trying the whole while to think of a way out. Then he caught a blur of motion out of the corner of his eyes, heading for Sam and Tucker. In less than an instant he turned the ecto-staff up to maximum power and threw it in between the blur and Sam, running straight after it. Just as the blur came in front of Sam the crackling ecto staff slid between the two and the blur slowed enough to be recognized as a man. He was a short, relatively old, with bushy eyebrows and a bushier mustache, dressed in a long green shirt and black pants, topped off with a flat black hat.

"\\You stay away from Sam!\\" Danny called out as he came up to the man. He attacked with speed that surprised even himself, but it was as if he was moving in slow motion compared to the strange man, who was obviously barely trying. As they fought, five other strange people came calmly out of the shadows to watch, three muscular giants, a somewhat more 'normal' looking man, and a young woman with a sword strapped across her back

"\\ Ha-ha! The runt actually halted Kensei's attack long enough to counter! I like this new disciple! \\" said the 'smallest' of the giants, a man with black hair, tan skin, and a scar across his face.

"\\Very...impressive\\" the woman said, stowing her extra projectiles in her short kimono where they clicked a bit against her chainmail undershirt.

"\\I must study that energized weapon later, it might be useful in some training equipment\\" the scholarly man's pale eyes gleamed with excitement (Kenichi looked frightened)

"\\Apapapapapa!\\" the middle sized giant chattered excitedly, his eyed glowing under light blue hair.

"\\His movements are somewhat sloppy but he has quite the potential. Kensei, why don't you finish up so we can speak with him? \\" at the elderly giant's words, the short man became much more serious and sent Danny to the ground with a single move. Miu came to stand over him, offering a hand to get up.

"Still insist you're not stronger than you look?" She said cheerfully. He grabbed her hand and stood up indignantly.

"\\Are any of you going to explain what the heck is going on and why you're attacking my friends! And how are you so calm Miu! \\"

"\\As the two go hand in hand, would you do the honors Miu? \\" The old giant said.

"Introduction time! The tall man with the long blond hair my Grandfather, Fūrinji Hayato, The Superman with no Equals! The man with the scar across his face is Shio Sakaki, The Hundredth Dan Street Brawler! The man with the blank eyes and the mustache is Kōetsuji Akisame, The Philosophical Jujitsu Master! The swordswoman is Kōsaka Shigure, The Prodigy of Swords and Master of all Weaponry, and Last but not least Hopachai Apachai, the Grim Reaper of Muay Thai! Together they make up the Ryōzanpaku dojo, where Kenichi and I live."

"Great, now we know who to report to the police, but you still haven't explained anything!" Sam spoke with venom in her words.

"Apapa! That will be Apachai's job! When Apachai died, the grim reaper said he would bring Apachai back to like if he agreed to teach Danny Muay Thai and convince the other masters to teach Danny too! So we came to America to find you and bring you back to Ryōzanpaku so I can teach you to kill your opponents with your fists!"

"Died? Reaper? I don't want to join some freaky cult and I _don't_ want to learn to kill people. A little tip? Next time you're trying to recruit someone, try NOT attacking their friends." He turned to walk off, infuriated, senses open for the slightest sign of attack.

"\\So, it is the fact that your friends where put in danger that bothers you more than that you were attacked? Well that's...\\"

"Don't need the psychoanalysis, Lecter." The Elder was shocked to be cut off like that. Just when the Masters really thought that they had screwed up, Apachai's face lit up.

"Oh yeah! Apachai remembered something else the Reaper said! He said, 'When you and the other masters ruin my plans, and Danny starts walking away, tell Danny that the parade has taken a different turn.'" Danny stopped dead in his tracks and did something that shocked everyone. He laughed.

"Ok, _now_ things are making some sense." The others were confused by the cryptic message but glad that Danny didn't seem quite as upset. "That probably explains how I can speak Japanese too, a little twist in time like that is definitely within Clockwork's power. I suppose I gotta go along with it if _he_ orchestrated this, I do still owe him big time..." he turned to Apachai and bowed. "It would be an honor to learn from you, Apachai sensei." He turned to the others. "\\I think you will all understand if I reserve judgment on whether or not I trust you guys, however.\\"

"\\Danny, I realize that perhaps we could have created better circumstances under which to meet for the first time, do you think you could hear me out on the reasoning behind our actions?\\ Danny remained silent. "Good. I'll speak English; your friends look rather confused. As I'm sure you've figured out, our attack was to test you. We apologize if it seemed extreme, but as I'm sure Kenichi will readily tell you, all our training is extreme. \\Isn't all our training extreme?\\" At this Kenichi started crying and nodded emphatically. "If even this was too much for you, your chances of surviving at Ryōzanpaku would be significantly less. And I think we learned some valuable information about you. You fight hardest for your friends! You fight to protect others! This is exactly the beliefs we value at Ryōzanpaku. We follow the way of the 'saving fist', fighting to protect, _never_ to kill. From what we've observed of you, you will uphold these splendidly. Keep it up and you _will_ become a great martial artist or die trying!" The Elder's eyes where shining by the time he was done his little speech, as were the other masters'. Danny felt that same feeling as before, except stronger, and with a smidge less danger and a bit more excitement. It physically blew Sam and Tucker back onto the ground, while Danny and Kenichi took a few steps back and Miu merely secured her footing.

"\\Danny is also pretty good at sensing ki! He felt that you guys were following us only a bit after I did! \\" Miu said happily. _So that's what that is!_ Danny thought. He stood with a contemplative look for what seemed like ages. He then turned to face the masters and bowed.

"\\Masters, you have yourselves a new student.\\" Danny said, to general excitement

"Excellent! Then we should go and tell your parents. We already fabricated a contest to explain why we want to train you, and now that you're in on it there's nothing left but parental consent. After that, we leave for Japan as soon as we are done with the mission we took in order to get here." Now that it was finalized Danny was actually pretty excited.

"What mission is that? How long do you think it will take to finish?" Danny asked.

"Well, it's pretty confidential, but you're our disciple now, so we should be able to trust you. It shouldn't take too long. The mayor hired us to get Danny Phantom out of the town's hair. We get free transport here, a free stay at a swanky hotel, and a cool mil on completion! You're lucky, kid, Ryōzanpaku is usually troubled financially, but you'll be joining in the good times. Sweet, huh Kid? Kid? Danny? What's the matter, you look like you've seen a ghost?" Sakaki's voice changed from jovial and bragging to one of concern_._ Danny fainted.

AN Wow that was longer than the other chapters. But I'm pleased, it accomplished a lot; all the characters are together, the stage is set, and While Fenton didn't stand a chance against the masters, it'll be interesting to see how Phantom fairs. And how will Jack and Maddie react to the Ryozanpaku masters? ...

REDHERRING1412 IS A MIND READER. Damn you and thanks for reading! (The story, that is. Stay out of my head!)

Come one people, I have one vote on the poll so far! I'd really appreciate the input. It'll get to a point where I won't be able to go any farther without a definite decision.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter! I like the rate at which I'm pullin these out but I'm sorry to say it prob'ly won't last.

Primary language English through most of the story, shifts to japanese in the Ryōzanpaku centric final section.

I Don't own Danny Phantom or History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi.

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><p>Jack and Maddie Fenton were working in the lab, absorbed in their work, when they heard the door open upstairs and heard many footsteps and general racket. Maddie looked up, confused, while Jack just kept on with what he was doing. <em>That's odd; Danny called and said he was showing some new students around town, he shouldn't be home already. And why so many people?<em> She nudged Jack and they headed up to the living room where she was shocked to see a crowd of 8 strange people who were obviously not from around here, along with Sam and Tucker who kept looking at them warily. Jazz was already yelling at them until Sam and Tucker calmed her down. Then Maddie saw the reason for her concern; Danny was lying unconscious on the couch.

"Danny!" she rushed to his side

"What happened to Danny? Who are you and what are you doing in my house! " Jack said and pulled a bazooka out of nowhere.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Fenton. I apologize if we have startled you, but we merely brought Danny home after he fell unconscious" the largest of the strangers, an old man with long blond hair and beard, explained. His complete lack of fear of the large weapon aimed at him was unnerving.

"Yeah! I just mentioned that we were hired to take out Phantom and he fainted!" the man with a scar across his face explained. Jazz looked panicked at this and shared a look with Sam and Tucker. Jack on the other hand looked overjoyed and dropped the bazooka instantly.

"You guys are ghost hunters! Why didn't you say so, Welcome to Fenton works! Thanks for helping out Danny! Do you want to talk about ghosts?" The strangers looked at the overenthusiastic jumpsuit clad man, taken aback by the change of heart.

"Not ghosts per say, but I take it you are the one who made the energized staff Danny was carrying? I would very much like to study the designs, with your permission. " The most normal of the adult visitors said with a certain gleam in his eyes.

"You betcha!" Jack said and led the man to the basement with unbridled enthusiasm. This left Maddie to talk with the other masters alone.

"So, you came to the city to hunt Phantom. What does that have to do with my son?" Maddie's accusatory tone was not missed.

"We... _contacted_ your son on an unrelated matter, actually. You see, our dojo recently took part in a contest funded by a particular online language teaching service that Danny had been using to learn Japanese. He won the contest. Coincidentally, that same day the mayor of this town hired us to take care of Phantom, so we decided to tell you in person since we'd be in Amity Park anyway. Danny has already agreed, and once we get your consent and we finish our job, Danny will come with us to Japan to study martial arts under us. With any luck we'll be gone within the week." Maddie didn't know what to say. She had simultaneously learned that Danny had entered a contest to go to Japan without her permission, that Vlad Masters apparently thought that she and Jack were doing a poor enough job that he needed to hire Japanese mercenaries, and had her abilities further indirectly insulted when the old giant implied they could do in a week what She had failed to manage in nearly two years.

"No. My son is not going to Japan. The trouble he's in for doing this behind my back aside, if he wants to learn martial arts, I can teach him. I am a 9th degree black belt and know more than enough to teach Danny to defend himself." She said, somewhat indignantly.

"Hmmm... well be that as it may, we are Masters. Martial Arts are our life, and we can teach much more than any casual practitioner. Take Kenichi here for example. Not a drop of talent for martial arts in him, yet in just over a year we've molded him into one of the strongest disciples there is. If you wish to test our ability to teach, you may test his ability. Spar with him. \\Ken chan, Take off your shirt and come over here, you are going to spar with Mrs. Fenton.\\" the elderly giant spoke to a subtly muscular teenager who responded with panic.

"\\I can't fight her! I can't hit a woman, besides Danny said she's a 9th dan black belt, didn't you tell me not to fight masters!\\" Kenichi practically screamed.

"\\Kenichi, in the past several months you have fallen deeply into the world of martial arts, into the secret world the average person knows nothing about. You are about to learn an important lesson about how our worlds define 'master', as well as why we doesn't bother with ranks or belts. Now get your shirt off and get over here.\\" Maddie watched the exchange with confusion, and then watched Kenichi Take of his shirt in resignation, his muscles not so subtle without the cloth covering them. "Sorry, our disciple here is quite the chivalrous youth and refuses to hit women, and that coupled with our previous orders that he never fight a master made him rather reluctant to fight you." The Elder spoke with a subtle tone of amusement. Kenichi stood before Maddie and bowed, before taking a fighting stance. Maddie was immediately more inclined to believe the Elder; the boy's stance was flawless and he certainly had the body of a martial artist. _I suppose I haven't much choice. But making me fight their student instead fighting me themselves? And calling me a casual practitioner? These guys are pretty good at accidental insults._ She bowed back and took a stance as well.

"Ready, set, Go!" The elder exclaimed. Considering the boy's hesitation, Maddie decided to make the first move. She was startled when Kenichi moved out of the path of the punch before she was even done punching. He then looked confused as she tried again to kick him only to have him behind her by the time it was. As she turned to face him, he started speaking to the masters as he turned to remain behind her.

"Kenichi says that while he appreciates the gesture, He asks that you not hold back for his sake."

Everyone was surprised when it was _Danny_ who translated. Maddie was quite relieved that he was ok and stole a quick smile at him but willed herself to keep her mind on the fight.

"Jeez, the kid's finally awake! You won't hold up so well at Ryōzanpaku if you faint over nothing like that." The man with the scar said, relief sneaking in past his chastising tone. _Ryōzanpaku? Where have I heard that name before...?_ She shook her head and decided to concentrate on the fight. _He doesn't want me to hold back I won't! Funny though, I really wasn't holding back _that_ much, it's impressive that he realized it._ She attacked full speed, only to have Kenichi dodge again. Next she feigned a punch and a kick to kick him with her other leg, only to have the first round blocked by his hands and the actual kick blocked by his leg. She pushed off him and flipped to the ground for a quit counterstrike, hoping to get him while he was off balance, but her maneuver hadn't fazed him in the least. _That's a solid stance! And it feels like I hit a stone statue! But he's still just the student. There's got to be something I can use that he hasn't learned, though that might be hard, his masters seem to know a pretty good range of skills... but I bet he's never seen a ghost fight._ Maddie stopped thinking of this a martial arts fight and began thinking of it as a ghost hunt, and adjusted her moves accordingly. Since the Fentons fight ghosts for a living, they have (or at least Maddie has) adjusted their fighting style to suit the wild, powerful attacks of the ghosts. (It's not all lasers and bazookas you know) This meant equally wild and powerful attacks, but with a bit more finesse and timing. While Kenichi hardly fought like a ghost, Maddie's ghost-countering techniques were guaranteed to be something he'd never seen before. As Maddie got into her ghost hunting groove, she fought much harder and faster than she had ever expected to fight a human. And Kenichi was no longer fighting with the same ease he had in the beginning of the fight. But after about ten minutes the edge from changing styles was lost and Maddie was struggling again. Then, in less than an instant, Kenichi spotted an opening and took it, and Maddie was sitting on the floor with her arms twisted behind her back, unable to move. Kenichi won. _He beat me with a jujitsu technique! ... He really didn't hit me once, even when it meant getting hit. Huh, I guess that Fūrinji san was telling the truth about him being all chivalrous. Wait, where'd that name come from, they never told me their names... but Fūrinji Hayato is the head of the Ryōzanpaku dojo... right! I've heard of Ryōzanpaku before!_

"Ok, you win." She said and Kenichi let go and backed off. They bowed, and Maddie turned to the elder. "Could you please tell me your name?"

"I am Fūrinji Hayato, head of the Ryōzanpaku dojo." Maddie's eyes lit up in amazement

"So it _is_ that Ryōzanpaku! I've heard of you, you six are the best in the world!" she turned to each of the Masters in turn. "You must be Shio Sakaki, Karate Master; you're Apachai Hopachai, Master of Muay Thai; Kōsaka Shigure, weapons prodigy; You're Ma Kensei, Master of Chinese martial arts; The man with Jack must be Kōetsuji Akisame the jujitsu master, philosopher, doctor and artist... I'm actually a little afraid of what he'll do with the ghost tech..." she turned back to the elder "and you're the Invincible Superman! Now I'm really glad I didn't insist on fighting one of you instead." She bowed to the masters, looking a bit flustered. "If it's what Danny wants, I'd be honored to have you teach him. I'm curious though, why did you agree to teach a random American kid? I'm not sure if Danny can take whatever it is it would take to get your level. I mean, you guys are practically legendary! If the rumors were to be believed you can run on water and take on an army single handedly! Amazing how things can be blown out of proportion like that, huh?" She laughed and the other masters chuckled along awkwardly and Kensei jumped up and put a hand over Apachai's mouth before he said something that would cause trouble.

"As for why we wanna teach some random kid, well, as famous as we apparently are we've had financial issues lately and the contest was a good help. And if we can whip Kenichi into shape we can make anyone with proper determination into a martial artist." Sakaki said. While Kenichi couldn't understand what Sakaki said, he got the gist and was having mixed emotions about being used as rating of the ability of the dojo again and again. On the one hand he was being praised, but on the other hand, he was being shown off like a dog in show, and the references to how weak he was without the training were getting annoying.

"\\We... _tested_ Danny, and I think he has quite a bit of potential. He actually survived a fight with me, matched me blow for blow, up until I actually tried at least.\\" The Elder translated Kensei's words as the masters nodded their agreement and Maddie looked at Danny with surprise, to which he rubbed the back of his neck and blushed.

"Since when can you fight?" Maddie asked Danny, startled to the point of uncharacteristic bluntness.

"Well, you _did_ teach me some when I was younger, and we live in the most haunted town in the world" He cringed inwardly at using that weak excuse again "so I've been practicing, just in case." Maddie seemed to accept it and hugged him, smiling with pride. Just then Jack and Akisame came back up from the lab.

"Maddie, this guy is a genius! I swear he caught on after watching for just a few minutes. Now, if you Re-oozin-packu guys are as crazy powerful as they say, your main disadvantage against ghosts would be their intangibility, since even your freaky attacks won't work if your opponent isn't physically there; Which is why Aky-samy and I made these!" He handed out to each of the masters what appeared to be altered gloves from his jumpsuits, which glowed ever so slightly. "With these, you can hit ghosts even when they're intangible! We'll be done the boots in about an hour." he took a bottle of some glowing green liquid and handed it to Shigure "Use this next time you sharpen your blades and you can mutilate those intangible spooks like nobody's business! Try to leave enough for me to dissect though!" He looked around eagerly for approval from the masters and was answered with an excited gleam from their eyes and waves of energy from their bodies. Danny turned almost as green as the liquid Shigure was now examining.

* * *

><p>"What the heck am I gonna do!" Danny, Sam, Tucker and Jazz went up into his room as soon as Ryōzanpaku left, and Danny was pacing back and forth, trying in vain to think of a solution to the problem of his new "masters".<p>

"Lay low. That's your only option, really." Sam said bluntly.

"Yeah, I mean if these guys are around working as ghost hunters, you won't be need as Phantom. Besides, since you'll be gone once you leave to train in Japan anyway, Phantom might as well disappear now. In fact it's probably for the best if your departure and Phantom's disappearance don't match up." Jazz said. She had initially been very much against the idea of him going to Japan, but she seemed to have accepted it fairly well once she heard how it was contrived by Clockwork.

"Yeah, the only thing is that this was planned by Vlad, and I'm afraid to think of what he might do to draw me out into the open if I lay low for too long. Though most likely they've reported this to him by now, he's probably laughing his ass off." Danny paused and thought hard. "I'm gonna hafta come up with a battle strategy to survive long enough to convince them I'm not the bad guy."

"That might not be enough; we're talking about a million dollars here." Tucker said

"They don't really strike me as the type to put money over morals, though." Sam said.

"But they're still really strong; you heard what mom said about them, she thinks it's exaggeration but from what I've seen and felt I wouldn't put it past them and seriously can't afford to underestimate them in the least. It's going to be a battle to simply not die." Danny paled. This was the first time he had faced his mortality so directly since the Pariah Dark invasion and he was hardly eager to voice the fact.

"They said they don't kill, right? Their whole 'Saving Fist' thing" Sam tried to be re-assuring.

"Yeah, but they don't know their opponent isn't already dead." Danny said. No one knew what to say. "So my best bet is to lay low and train my ass off so I can at least have a fighting chance. I think I need to start my training with them _before_ we get to Japan." He chuckled bitterly "Oh the irony; training to avoid death with the people who are trying to kill me."

* * *

><p>"Kenichi, you were sloppy in your fights today." Akisame's voice may have been calm but it still sent shivers down Kenichi's spine.<p>

"Yeah, what was that crap with lettin' that blond blob hit you? I'd've just knocked him out cold from the get go, though I will admit that the look on his face was priceless and you had a pretty good stance afterwards." Sakaki chuckled. Kenichi and Miu were disturbed but not quite surprised to find out that they had been watched during school.

"And more importantly your fight with Mrs. Fenton was not your best display by any means, you hesitated far too much. I hope you at least learned your lesson." The Elder looked at Kenichi, his expression shifting to fit the wise old teacher role.

"Eh, I think so, something about how 'Master' by the standard of the normal world is not the same as 'Master' by the standard I've been getting used to? I'm sorry for hesitating, but I was really confused during the fight, I mean, she was barely as strong as some of the disciples I've faced, and even less threatening since she wasn't trying to kill me." Kenichi said with a nervous chuckle.

"Yes, I'd say you've learned your lesson sufficiently. But what I've learned is that you need to learn to assess your opponents better." The elder stroked his beard. "On an unrelated note, I think we should invite Danny to stay with us to train before we actually go to Japan. When I spoke to Masters earlier he seemed to think that Phantom knows about us and will be lying low, harder to find, so it might be a while until we begin training otherwise. Besides, if Danny is staying in Kenichi's room it lessens the chance of Kenichi and Miu to taking advantage of their conjoined rooms." Miu blushed and looked somewhere between embarrassed end sheepish.

"That door leads to Miu's room! I thought it was a storage closet!" Kenichi looked shocked and then started to cry; the conflicting emotions of having missed an opportunity but avoiding death in doing so were too much for him. Just then, a timid looking man who appeared to work for the Hotel walked shakily up to the Ryōzanpaku gang.

"\\Uh... I-I'm going t-to have to a-ask you to l-leave the gym. You're s-scar uh disturbing the other g-guests and you're misusing the equipment.\\" The man looked relieved to have delivered the message.

"\\I apologize if we are disturbing the other guests, but in what way are we misusing the equipment?\\" Akisame inquired calmly

"\\W-well for starters, one person is only supposed to use one p-piece of equipment at a time.\\" He looked at Kenichi. Each of Kenichi's limbs was strapped to the wires of a different weight machine, and as he kicked and punched the weights clanked ferociously and shook the machine. The Manager would have said something earlier, but no one had wanted to argue with the people who had picked up and moved the abused equipment in question with one hand.

"\\I see. My apologies.\\Kenichi, we're going to go practice your kicks in the pool now!" Kenichi was removed from the equipment and carried to the pool, still crying. The manager and the bellhop that had wound up telling them to leave looked on in amazement.

"\\... Should we be calling Child Services? \\" The bellhop asked uneasily.

"\\I don't think the American Child Services has any authority over Japanese citizens. Besides, they are mayor Masters' guests; do _you_ want to be the one to get them in trouble? \\" The manager replied. The bellhop simply paled. "\\I didn't think so\\"

* * *

><p>AN Ok so I think I'll pro'ly be doing a little time skip in the next chapter, I know people have been eager to see Danny training but I think it will be more interesting to skip to the results of training and Phantom Vs. Ryōzanpaku than to linger on the process. There'll be plenty of time for training once they actually get to Japan. Please R&amp;R!<p>

A big thank you to those who voted on the poll, the unanimous vote is currently to _not_ give Apachai powers, but with only 4 votes... I'll leave it open for, let's say a week after this is posted, and then close it.

I am really excited to make the fight, but I think this will quite a challenging chapter; I like a strong Danny, but for this story he obviously can't be too strong, but he can't be brought down in a single hit either (And considering one of his opponents is Fūrinji Hayato ...) anyway, it will be a difficult balance to maintain and a challenging chapter in general, so I may have to ask you guys to be patient. Though with spring break, I might have more time to write...


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